Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings where bloggers share the books they can’t wait for. I use it here on my blog to highlight an upcoming release I’m excited for and tell you why it should be on your TBR!
CONTENT WARNING: The book featured in today’s post deals with sexual assault. Sexual assault and rape culture are mentioned in this post. You can find more detailed content warnings for The Mirror Season, as well as Anna-Marie McLemore’s other books, on their website.
Note: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will receive a small commission if you choose to purchase via the link in this post. This is a way to support indie bookstores & the work I put into this blog! It’s appreciated, but never expected.
Title: The Mirror Season
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release date: March 16, 2021
Pre-order It from Bookshop.org!
Synopsis: “When two teens discover that they were both sexually assaulted at the same party, they develop a cautious friendship through her family’s possibly-magical pastelería, his secret forest of otherworldly trees, and the swallows returning to their hometown, in Anna-Marie McLemore’s The Mirror Season…
Graciela Cristales’ whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. She loses her gift for making enchanted pan dulce. Neighborhood trees vanish overnight, while mirrored glass appears, bringing reckless magic with it. And Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, and what happened to the boy whose name she never learned.
But when the boy, Lock, shows up at Ciela’s school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart. Ciela decides to help him, which means hiding the truth about that night. Because Ciela knows who assaulted her, and him. And she knows that her survival, and his, depend on no one finding out what really happened.”
- Anna-Marie McLemore is one of my all-time favorite authors! I’ve loved their books Wild Beauty, Blanca y Roja, and Miss Meteor.
- I’m always here for YA books with queer rep! The main character, Ciela, is pansexual, and from what I’ve heard, there’s a number of other supporting/background characters who are queer.
- It has a stunning cover that communicates the depth of the story beautifully.
- Enchanted pan dulce? Heck yes. I love the way Anna-Marie weaves magic into their writing in a way that feels so natural.
- As a teen services librarian, I’m always looking for books that deal with rape culture & sexual assault in a sensitive way to add to my library’s collection. This is a subject that needs to be included in YA collections.
- Because you should be supporting queer authors of color.
- Okay, seriously, do you see that cover? It’s probably one of the prettiest covers of 2021!
- If you’re interested in a book that centers survivors and deals with trauma in a unique way, this is your book! However, this novel obviously deals with some themes that may be triggering, so if it’s not the book for you, that’s totally okay and valid, too (remember to check the content warnings I linked at the top of this post!).
- If you’ve enjoyed Anna-Marie’s previous novels, you won’t want to miss this one! But if you’re new to their work, why not pick up their newest?
- It’s queer, magical, full of Latinx rep, and it’s about survivors and how trauma can connect people. I wholeheartedly believe in the value of these stories, and I hope you do, too.
Is The Mirror Season on your TBR?
Books. Libraries. Also, cats. 
I am very picky about the books I read that deal with sexual assault type issues because my work-life touches that reality on a daily basis. But this one does interest me given the synopsis. I am curious about how the author will weave the magical elements in. And I definitely feel we need more books like this out there. Thank you for sharing!
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This was one of my first pre-orders this year. It looks hauntingly beautiful and a perfect exploration of such a difficult topic. I am so excited to read it!
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